Time to stop Bath becoming Disneyland on Avon

6 June 2018

Bath’s Liberal Democrat MP, Wera Hobhouse, has come out strongly against plans for yet another new hotel in the centre of the city.

Plans to turn a Bath College building on Milk Street have resulted in serious ructions in the small business community in Bath.

Wera said:

“Enough is enough. Residents rightly feel that there are already too many big hotels in Bath. The interests of local people are coming second to those of the big companies wanting to build more and more hotels and turn Bath into Disneyland on Avon."

“We have to get the balance right between tourism, which is vital to Bath’s economy, and the needs of residents for a place to live and enjoy.

“On Wednesday the Council planning committee will be considering a proposal for a new hotel at Milk Street and I call on Councillors to reject this application because it’s a step too far.

“Local people are being squeezed out of the city by ever increasing housing costs. Using valuable central space for big hotels will only makes it worse and should be opposed.

Wera added:

"I share the concerns of the sector that there is oversupply in the market place, and there's no evidence that any new business will be brought in. A such, the £4.72 million it is claimed that will be generated will be stolen from the existing businesses in Bath. On top of that, local businesses are struggling to recruit hospitality staff, and so people will have to be drawn from the already strained local talent pool, which means Bath will lose out as a whole."